Sound engineers deal with sound and make it sound good. They record, synchronize, mix, or reproduce music, voices or any other sound.
And sometimes they’re the music police for concerts.
Sound engineers make sure that the musicians are synced up with each other. So they might dim the clash of drums, tweak up guitar strings and let the lead singer’s voice wail through the concert hall for an Über musical experience. So if you got no satisfaction from the speakers at a gig – that’s the sound engineers’ fault.
Thus they are important folk in making music, acoustics, and even movies (remember THX sound system?) sound good.
There are courses out there (Nanyang Polytechnic’s AV technology course for instance) that will teach you the basics. But to be really good, you’d need a ear for it, and plenty of curiosity and desire to investigate the aural spectrum.
Like Diego Stocco, a master sound engineer who makes music from the unlikeliest sources such as “clothes drying rack, pipes with water running through them, a burning piano, light bulbs, a typing machine, a bass made from a bedside table, and a ‘sonic washer’”
In fact his enthusiasm for discovering new sounds is insatiable.
He created the Experibass – the musical equivalent of Frankenstein’s Monster – to satisfy his “curiosity to hear the sound of violin, viola and cello strings amplified through the body of a double bass”.
To him, it was an experiment. To us, it’s amazing music…
Diego Stocco – Experibass (src: DSSessionVideos)
Apart from making freaky instruments, there’s plenty for sound engineers to do.
- Information engineering & media
- Computer engineering
After all, someone had to create the first music player, compress songs into mp3s, and even design our earphones!
Nowadays music technology has changed how we listen, make and see sound since the days of the Walkman (history lesson here).
Deliver music differently
For example, the Tunebug turns any surface into music speakers by using vibrations.
Just think of the applications.
Strap on the Tunebug to your hat, and it’ll deliver your music to your ears through your hat. Not your earphones. It’s a lot safer because you’re still aware of your surroundings and it wouldn’t hurt your eardrums.
Blurred lines between musical instruments and well… everything else
Like Think Geek’s guitar on a shirt where closet guitar geeks can rock out to Led Zeppelin strains without lugging around a fender. Or even the T-shirt with a moving equalizer for rock fashionistas to visualise rhythms and beats – on their chest.
Personally we’d like to see someone convert this voice-controlled toy piano into a grand piano that tinkles along as Alicia Keys’ sings.
Now won’t that be grand?
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